US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that a scaled-back energy and oil spill reform bill to be discussed by Congress this week marked a good start, but he vowed to continue pushing for broader legislation to tackle climate change, dpa reported.
Obama's fellow Democrats last week said they were postponing efforts to overhaul US energy and climate policy. Instead, the Senate will this week consider a more limited package that aims to learn the lessons of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and boost incentives for natural gas and energy efficiency.
Obama, in remarks to the press after meeting with congressional leaders, called the measure "an important step in the right direction ... but it's only the first step."
Conservatives and moderate Democrats from states that rely on fossil fuels have fiercely resisted broader reforms that would force companies to pay for pollution that causes climate change.
The opposition forced Democratic leaders in the Senate last week to abandon efforts to pass a climate bill until at least the autumn. Obama said the US' oil dependence and broader energy policy was "unsustainable" and that he would "keep pushing this issue forward" in the coming months. dpa cc aw Author: Chris Cermak